


Episode 1: "Quarantine"

by Buffyisamoderngirl2022



Series: Buffy + 20 [2]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:03:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28723302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buffyisamoderngirl2022/pseuds/Buffyisamoderngirl2022
Summary: This story is the first episode of my "Buffy + 20" script, or a television Buffy Season 8. I've read the Season 8 comics but they got too... epic. I missed the core gang dealing with real world problems in monster form. Instead of a new Buffy series being a reboot with new casting, I started thinking about what the story could look like with the original cast and what the fallout from Season 7 would be on these very human characters twenty years after closing the Sunnydale Hellmouth. My re-imagined Season 8 only uses the Buffy and Angel TV shows as canon. My goal is to draft scripts for a 13 episode season as if it were to air on Netflix or Hulu. The show would take place in late Fall 2022.
Relationships: Daniel "Oz" Osbourne/Willow Rosenberg, Spike/Buffy Summers
Series: Buffy + 20 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088744
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	Episode 1: "Quarantine"

“QUARANTINE”  
By  
Buffyisamoderngirl2022

ACT 1

SCENE 1

FLASHBACK WILLOW – ORIENTATION

MIT Orientation Welcome Session for Electrical Engineering and Computer Science PhD students. Lecture hall style seating, Willow is in the front row with her notebooks and pencils. It is only orientation, but she is already in full-on student mode. Head down, she is focused and looking over her orientation schedule. Only Willow/first couple rows and professor in frame.

PROFESSOR  
And with that, I'm finally done talking and am going to make you all do some talking instead. Let's start with you in the back, the late entrant. Yeah, I noticed you. Why are you here and what are you hoping to get out of the program?

UNSEEN VOICE  
Well, my rock star career never really took off like I'd hoped and I figure it'd probably be good to have some kind of fallback plan, so here I am.

WILLOW still looking at her papers, lets out a short laugh before something clicks in her mind and her face gets serious. She freezes.

PROFESSOR  
Well, we'll see what we can do to help you out.  
(The professor's focus shifts to the next student)  
And you, why are you here and what are you hoping to get out of the program?

THE NEXT STUDENT responds but the audio is muffled/dimmed. The focus is on WILLOW as she slowly turns around and sees OZ listening to the student with a bemused expression. His attention is caught by her movement. They look at each other for a beat and WILLOW breaks out into a full Willow-y grin as OZ smiles and gives her a "what's up" nod.

SCENE 2

FLASHBACK WILLOW – OZ AND WILLOW AT A CAFE

WILLOW  
I still can't believe it is really you, Oz, here!

OZ  
Same, but you, Willow, here.

WILLOW  
(Rapid-fire)  
Well, how are you? How have you been? What's life been like in the land of Oz?

OZ  
Sunnydale is a crater. I think you should probably go first.

THE camera is on both of them and we see OZ react to WILLOW’s story as she tells it.

WILLOW  
(Sheepishly)

Oh, yeah, right, I suppose I did kind of help with that. Uh, well, let's see, where to start.

(Beat, collecting her thoughts)

O-okay, so we were in college at UC Sunnydale and you remember that girl you met that made you go all wolfy, Tara?

(she's on a roll now)

Well we got pretty serious and then the gang teamed up in Buffy to fight a Frankensteiny guy. After that there was this actual god that tried to kill Dawn because her blood opened dimensional portals or something and we eventually saved Dawn and won, but Buffy died - but only for a little while! We brought her back, from heaven, oops. That wasn't great. (Thinking) Uh.. Xander and Anya got engaged... oh! and Spike and Buffy started doing it like bunnies. Xander left Anya at the altar, Anya became a vengeance demon again, that was rough, Spike assaulted Buffy and left Sunnydale. And uh...

(Willow trails off and goes quiet, looks down, not looking at Oz)

Do you remember Warren Mears?

OZ  
The guy from high school? Into computer-ish stuff?

WILLOW  
Yeah.

OZ  
Yeah, he was always kind of a dick. What about him?

WILLOW  
(Still not looking at Oz)  
I killed him.

OZ  
Will – you what?

WILLOW  
(Looks up)  
I killed him. (Beat) Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew -  
(Oz cuts her off.)

OZ  
Andrew?

WILLOW  
Tucker's brother.  
(Oz nods the recognition)  
Well, anyway, the three of them decided to try and mess with Buffy, and after failing a bunch of times, Warren wanted to get even and came to the house with a gun. He - he, fired at Buffy but a stray bullet also hit the house and killed Tara.

(Beat)

She died in my arms.

(Beat)

I, uh, kind of lost it after that. I found Warren and killed him, I tried to kill Andrew and Jonathan and almost ended the world until Xander talked me out of it. That was...(Willow lets out a sigh) not the best year.

OZ  
Wow.

WILLOW  
Yeah. Giles took me back to England for “Magic Rehab” for a while.

(Starting to pick up speed again)

I had to come back to Sunnydale early because, get this, the first original evil in the universe was killing every girl who could potentially become a slayer with the end goal of ending the Slayer line forever. It was mostly successful too, only a handful of them were left and they all came to live at Buffy's house. Oh! Spike came back to Sunnydale with his soul! Xander got his eye gouged out. We went to the old - new - high school to fight the army of Neanderthal vamps to try and take out the big evil and I used a spell to make all of the potential future slayers into actual slayers - that was pretty neat! Anya didn't make it, and it was Spike who actually caused Sunnydale to collapse into a crater, when he used a shiny necklace to kill all of the uber vamps at once, but it burned him up too. But he's alive, well - alive as a vampire, again.

(Shrugs)

We stayed close to LA for a bit to help with the demon-y overspill from the Battle of Los Angeles and brought the few leftover slayers with us, but once that was over we all started to...drift. Things were quiet on the evil-fighting front.  
Giles went back to England. I enrolled at Stanford and was living with one of the new slayers I'd been dating since Sunnydale, her name was Kennedy. Buffy went to Ohio to train up some of the new slayers and to go back to college while she kept an eye on the Hellmouth in Cleveland.

Some of the new slayers were causing, uh, problems, and Buffy came to visit me to ask me to reverse the, uh, I guess "en-slayerment" spell. I didn't want to, I thought they just needed more time to adapt and train, but you know how Buffy gets. She was all "I'm the slayer, it's my responsibility, I'm the only one who can make these decisions, you don't understand" blah blah blah, ignoring how her decision would affect others or that others may have different opinions. I tried to talk her out of it, Kennedy tried to talk her out of it, and Giles tried to talk her out of it, but Xander and Faith, surprisingly, agreed with Buffy. I told Buffy I can't be friends with someone who doesn't trust my opinion or wants to force me to do magic I don't want to do. She threw Warren in my face. I did the spell. Kennedy broke up with me and Buffy and I haven't really done much other than exchange pleasantries or talk about anything other than Xander since. I miss her.

Xander...Xander...wasn't the same after Anya died. He started drinking more, and then a lot more. We tried to help. We all pitched in to pay for rehab, but it didn't stick. After I graduated from Stanford I even took a year off before grad school to live with him to try and help him get back on his feet, but I failed. I finally decided I wanted something more, something just for myself, and here I am! And here you are! Yeesh, that was a lot. But enough of my jabbering, I want to hear all about Oz! How's life been for you since good ol' Sunnydale?

OZ  
Uh, I think life's been a bit less complicated for me than it has been for you. Toured with the Dingos for a while. Got some college radio play, which was cool. Aged out of my angst. Finished college, joined the Peace Corps. Came back. Started a community for other werewolves to learn how to control their changes like I did. I haven't involuntarily turned into my wolf side in the last three years. And now I'm here. That's about it.

WILLOW  
Oh wow! Oz! A-and now we are both here to delve deep into our computer nerdy selves!

OZ  
To fulfill our high school destinies it seems.

They stop to gaze at each other in wonder for a few seconds before they each move in for a deep meaningful kiss. OZ pulls away to look at WILLOW.

OZ  
Spark?

WILLOW

(not wanting to hurt his feelings)

Well, there is Oz spark, which is always amazing, but not tingly belly spark.

(delicate and jokingly at the same time)

It's just the ladies for me.

(Willow gives a half shrug)

OZ  
(Understanding)  
Fair.  
(Sincerely)  
It's good to see you Will. (Pause) So grad school huh?

(Willow smiles)

SCENE 3

PRESENT DAY WILLOW – LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY SUNSET

WILLOW parks her Subaru in front of the cafe. She shuts off her car, takes a deep breath, and steps out of the car.

ACT 2  
SCENE 1

FLASHBACK XANDER – INT. COUNSELOR’S OFFICE DAY (SEPTEMBER 2012-ISH)

XANDER is sitting in a chair about to begin his bi-weekly meeting with his counselor. The room is a smallish office but doesn't feel formal or clinical. Two armchairs face each other with a coffee table between them. Xander is in one chair, the counselor in the other.

COUNSELOR  
Before we get started on our last session, I wanted to take a second to congratulate you on successfully finishing the program here and for your discharge tomorrow. From what I recall of our previous conversations, you've tried rehab before, but have never been in a program this long, right?

XANDER  
That's right, Xander gets a participation trophy.

COUNSELOR  
You joke, but it is not nothing and the effort is worth recognition.

XANDER  
(Sarcastic)

Riiightt... I get a pat on the back because even though I am such an asshole I used (disgusted) physical violence on my girlfriend while drunk, was forced by a very scary judge to come here or go to jail, and have since done the bare minimum, not drinking, to get through the program?

COUNSELOR  
(Sincere)  
Correct.

XANDER looks away and focuses anywhere but on the therapist directly across from him.

COUNSELOR  
You've said and done things to hurt people you loved. You've started to face the consequences of those actions. The first step, whether court-mandated or not, was to get sober. You're sober. From what I've gathered from our conversations together you have taken this process seriously. You do get a pat on the back for that, because starting to do right is never easy, and some people never even bother to try. This doesn't make any of the harm you caused less serious or mean that anyone you hurt is obligated to forgive you, but making an effort to try and be better has to start somewhere, even if there are stumbles along the way.  
And honestly, the next few months are likely to be more difficult than your time here. Now you will have to try and stay sober without 24/7 built in support.

XANDER still downcast.

COUNSELOR  
Xander look at me please.  
(Xander looks at the counselor).  
When we first started our sessions you told me you thought the trigger for the binge and the violent behavior was an anniversary. What would have been your 10-year wedding anniversary, right?  
(Xander looks down again and gives a short nod)  
There will be more painful anniversaries, there will be more disagreements, and sometimes there will just be bad days. But that's okay.  
(Xander looks back up to the counselor)  
Let me ask you a question. Would you consider the time you've spent here to be the best days of your life?

XANDER  
I mean, not to diminish our quality chats, but no, I would not consider these last couple of months to be the best days of my life.

COUNSELOR  
But you stayed sober. You can do it because you have done it, even during some really terrible days. And if there comes a day where you feel you can't, ask for help.  
(Xander gives a gentle nod)  
Alright, I've said my piece, back to you. So, how are you doing today?

Camera switches to having them both in frame to just on Xander's somber-but-with-a-tiny-bit-of-hope face.

SCENE 2

FLASHBACK XANDER – JUST OUT OF REHAB. NOVEMBER 2012-ISH

MONTAGE of Xander applying, getting hired, and working on a construction crew, moving into an apartment, meeting with his probation officer. Doing well. Sober and stable.

SCENE 3

FLASHBACK XANDER – EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY

END of workday; construction crew packing up the worksite.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER  
(To Xander, but loud enough to be inclusive of the other workers nearby)  
Hey Xander, how about you let us take you out to celebrate the end of your probation today. Six months sure does fly by heh!

XANDER  
Eh, I dunno, I'm pretty beat and I have a celebratory frozen dinner waiting for me at home.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER  
(Jovial but pushy)  
Ah, come on! You only get to celebrate the end of probation once (looks around at some of the other crew members) well, some of us anyway!  
(Laughs at his own joke, as do some of the others nearby)  
Don't worry, we'll buy you a soda and some beer nuts!

XANDER  
Aren't the beer nuts free?

CONSTRUCTION WORKER  
Yep!  
(Claps Xander on the shoulder and the group moves toward the nearby bar)

INSIDE BAR. The rest of the group is already a couple rounds in. Xander is drinking soda but looking like he is maxed out for co-worker shenanigans.

CONSTRUCTION WORKER  
(Drunkenly raises his glass and shoves a full shot glass to Xander, who hold it gingerly)  
To Xander! We raise our glasses this day, May 20, 2013, to the goofiest pirate I've ever met paying his last deposit on his debt to society! (Swallows shot)

GROUP  
To Xander! (All down their shots)

XANDER looking bemused, then a slight flicker of confusion as something about the date tugs at his memory. He realizes it is 10 years to the day of Anya's death. His face falls and there is the briefest glimpse of despair before he raises the shot glass.

XANDER  
(Quietly)  
To Anya.  
(Xander downs the shot)

SCENE 4

FLASHBACK XANDER – INT. XANDER’S APARTMENT - DAY

XANDER wakes up in his apartment. He is a mess and so is his place. We see booze bottles scattered around and it is a gross mess compared to how it looked in the earlier montage.

XANDER  
(Sighs and rubs his head. Looks at phone, sees the time)  
Oh crap!  
(He hurriedly tries to get dressed, stumbles on some bottles, grabs his keys and rushes out the door.)

EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - DAY

XANDER jogs up to the construction site and up to his boss who is walking toward the office trailer. Xander looks like shit.

XANDER  
I'm sorry I'm late!

BOSS  
(Dismissive, looking at papers/clipboard)  
Me too. You were a good employee while it lasted.

XANDER  
What do you mean I was a good employee?

BOSS  
You're fired. It's been a week since you've shown up to work. I tried calling a bunch of times and Jimmy even went to your apartment to check on you, but you slammed the door in his face.

XANDER  
(Stops dead in his tracks in front of the trailer, mouth agape. He has no memory of any of this)  
But sir, I -

BOSS  
(Cuts Xander off)  
Your tools are over there. Grab 'em and leave the site.  
(His look softens)  
I'm sorry it turned out like this.  
(Boss turns and closes construction office door in Xander's face)

XANDER’S face turns from disbelief to anger. He turns heel and walks away

INT. BAR - NIGHT

XANDER  
(Already tipsy, angry and addressing no one in particular)  
Fire me? I'll fire you.  
(He looks like he's decided something, slams the rest of his drink, and leaves the bar)

EXT. CONSTRUCTION SITE - NIGHT

XANDER walks towards the construction site with gas canisters in each hand with crazed look in his eye and walking with a drunken sway. He is walking toward the camera looking very serious and scary, trips on something left on the ground, falls flat on his face, and passes out.)

INT. XANDER’S APARTMENT - DAY

XANDER wakes and starts to take a look around. He notices he is in his own bed, but with no memory of how he got there. He smells like cigarettes and gasoline. He groans as he remembers what he did the day before and his plan to burn down the construction site. He rolls over and notices a glass of water by the bed and a bucket on the floor. Confused, he grabs his pants and pulls them on. He stands up, takes a shirt from the pile on his floor, and opens his bedroom door. He sees Spike casually sitting at his kitchen table flipping through a newspaper.

XANDER’s too tired to be very surprised to see an old vampire frenemy in his house.

XANDER  
(To Spike as he is pulling his shirt over his head)  
I don't remember inviting you in.

SPIKE  
(Bored, still flipping through the paper, not looking at Xander)  
I'd be shocked if you remembered anything given that I found you passed out in a puddle of your own sick.

XANDER  
(Facing Spike)  
Why are you in my apartment?

SPIKE  
(Turns to look at Xander)  
Welp, to borrow a phrase from an old annoying coworker, I help the hopeless, or helpless - whatever, now; and mate, last night you looked pretty hopeless.

XANDER  
(Gears up to say something snide back. Opens his mouth to speak, sees the empty bottles around his apartment, and deflates. He takes a breath before speaking and is now sad and sincere.)  
You're right. I need help.

SCENE 5

PRESENT XANDER – INT. CAFE – LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY SUNSET

XANDER anxiously paces inside of the cafe back and forth from the back table to the front window to look out for the arrival of Willow and Buffy of the café.

XANDER  
(Aloud.)

Do you think they'll show? They have to show, right?

(Fretfully gesturing)

I mean, sure, I may not have told Willow that I asked Buffy to come, or told Buffy that I asked Willow to come, but they're friends, right? We're all friends, everyone should be happy to see each other, right?

I mean, everything's been so weird and terrible the last few years and once everyone is in the same room it will all feel normal again, right? It has to. They'll see that I'm better, that I'm sober, and I'll apologize, crack a few jokes, and it will all be like it was - before I screwed everything up, right?

XANDER turns to look behind him as the camera pans back to the table where Xander originated his pacing. Spike raises an eyebrow mid-sip with his coffee mug.

ACT 3

SCENE 1

FLASHBACK SPIKE – EXT. RESIDENTIAL STREET - NIGHT (SOMETIME 2011-ISH)

SPIKE arrives at Buffy's new town and parks in front of her house. Opens his car door, stands, sniffs the air.

SPIKE  
(mutters)

Wanker.

SPIKE can smell that ANGEL has recently been here, even though ANGEL didn't say anything to SPIKE about going to try and visit BUFFY. From the decay of the scent SPIKE can tell it's been a few hours since he was near BUFFY’S house.  
SPIKE lights a cigarette and turns to walk toward the house, directly up the walk, gets closer to the door and pauses, unsure, and ducks around toward the side of the house instead. Tells himself he wants to get a lay of the land first, but really he is stalling for time because he is afraid to knock on her door. He puffs his cigarette and passes one dark window and then another. As he comes around the back of the house he sees a light from the kitchen window. The remnants of a dinner for two can be seen in the sink.

As SPIKE rounds the final corner of the house, almost back to the front porch, he sees the flickering lights of the TV reflected against the interior wall. As he reaches the next window he stops and stares.  
SPIKE sees BUFFY fast asleep resting her head on a pillow on her husband's lap. BUFFY is cuddled in a blanket with a bit of drool coming from the corner of her mouth as her husband strokes her hair absentmindedly while watching TV.  
SPIKE stands staring with an empty look on his face. After a solid ten seconds he takes a final long drag of his cigarette, flicks it away and strides back to his car without looking back.

SCENE 2

PRESENT DAY SPIKE – INT. CAFÉ – LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY SUNSET

SPIKE listens to Xander's anxious rambling as he sips a beverage in a dark corner of the cafe, waiting for the others

A car door is heard slamming outside of the cafe. Xander whips around and looks at the front entrance of the cafe with panic. Willow enters, her face tight and anxious. She sees Xander frozen mid-pace in the center of the cafe. Willow has a brief look of pity before her face goes hard.

XANDER is seeing Willow in person for the first time in years and it knocks the wind out of him.

XANDER  
(Completely vulnerable and sincere, verge of tears)  
I'm so so sorry Will -

XANDER is interrupted and immediately distracted by the cafe door opening and BUFFY entering.

XANDER/WILLOW  
(Simultaneously)  
Buffy!  
(Willow sounds confused and maybe kind of pissed, Xander sounds upbeat and excited)

BUFFY looks at them both, stops dead in her tracks, and crosses her arms.

SPIKE  
(From offscreen)

Hello Buffy.

WILLOW and BUFFY turn to look at shadowy corner of the cafe where SPIKE has been sitting.

WILLOW/BUFFY  
(Willow is confused and Buffy is sound caught in her throat/full body shocked to see Spike])  
Spike?!

XANDER  
(nervous/jokingly)  
Look at us! The Gang's all here! The Scoobies are back together! And Spike!

WILLOW, BUFFY, and SPIKE all turn to stare at XANDER for a beat before a cacophony of emergency alert sounds ring out from the cell phones of every person in the cafe. The group continues to look at each other.

BARISTA

(Unworried, but hurried)

Alright everyone, it looks like I need to clear you all out.

(Reading from phone)

According to the alert the Governor’s issuing an immediate quarantine for this whole area. Here we go again.

(Speaking over the sound of patrons starting to gather their things)

You don't have to go home but you can't stay here. Thank you and please leave your dishes in the bus pan on your way out.

WILLOW

(Pulls out her phone and starts scrolling)

Immediate quarantine for the whole tri-city area? Ugh. I knew I shouldn't have left San Francisco.

(To herself)

What the hell am I going to do?

SPIKE  
(To Xander)  
Uh, mate, we might need to reschedule this little reunion until another date if we want to get out before the roadblocks go up.

BUFFY

(Arms still crossed, looking at the Barista, but addressing the group)

It's too late.

(She turns to look at all of them together)

Looks like you're all coming home with me.

SCENE 3

PRESENT DAY – EXT. BUFFY’S HOUSE – NIGHT

BUFFY is standing in her doorway watching WILLOW, then XANDER as they each enter the house. SPIKE pauses before entering.

BUFFY

(To Spike)

Come on in.

SPIKE gives a curt nod, walks past BUFFY and she closes the door behind him.

The group is standing in the living room. A loud thudding of footsteps is heard coming down the stairs.

JJ

(From offscreen)

Mom! Mom! Did you see the new quarantine order?!

JJ skids to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, noticing the random people standing in her living room, and gives a confused and surprised look to Buffy.

BUFFY  
JJ, this is the Gang. Gang - this is my daughter JJ.

SCENE 4

FLASHBACK SPIKE – EXT. BUFFY’S STREET - NIGHT (SOMETIME 2014-ISH)

SPIKE is back on Buffy’s street again. He tells himself that he can make himself knock on her door this time because this time the visit isn't about himself, it's about him, her boy. Xander. Spike found Xander in a bad way and is sure that Buffy would want to know about it, right? Definitely. As soon as possible. It's for her own good. And his. His being Xander of course, not Spike. Plus, he is conveniently passed out in Spike's backseat if Buffy needs proof.  
In a repeat of his attempt from three years earlier Spike parks his car across the street and starts up the walk. He sets his shoulders, determined. Just past the same point up the walk as his last visit, he chickens out and veers off the walk, this time, the opposite direction around the house.

SPIKE starts his journey by glancing at the family room window where he saw sleeping Buffy three years earlier. There is no one there. Though the feeling is unwanted, he feels a flutter of hope in his chest. He turns the back corner toward the kitchen but what he sees in the kitchen window this time is worse. His face gets hard and he only pauses a few seconds at the kitchen window before marching back to his car.

This time Spike arrived in time to see dinner at Buffy's house, but instead of a dinner for two, it was dinner for three. Buffy and her husband were laughing at a baby JJ making a mess in her highchair as they tried to feed her. Somehow all three of them seemed to have JJ's food splattered on them and were laughing at newly discovered gobs of food on each other.

Back at his car, Spike with efficient anger searches the pockets of his duster. He'd seen enough. His mind made up, he finds the object he was searching for and pulls it from his inside pocket - a small metal talisman. He stares at the talisman with a focused rage.

The scene transforms from the darkened street to a white void space with Spike standing in the center.

DISEMBODIED VOICE

Welcome Spike. Have you made your decision?

SPIKE

(Still angry)

Yes.

DISEMBODIED VOICE

Very well. As your reward for your service in re-balancing the scales of good and evil on Earth in the Battle of Los Angeles I will grant a single request for you - whatever you desire.

SPIKE  
That's the deal as I remember it and I know who (corrects himself) what, I want.

DISEMBODIED VOICE  
Speak it and it shall be done.

SPIKE

(Determined and staring defiantly toward the direction of the disembodied voice)

Make me mortal.

VOID space dissolves and Spike is back to standing next to his car across from Buffy's house. He looks back at her house before getting into his car and driving away.

THE END


End file.
